HELSINKI/BRISTOL, 10th January 2023. Gutsy Animations’ internationally celebrated, Emmy® nominated animated series Moominvalley (13 x 22’) has been recommissioned for a fourth season by its anchor broadcasters Sky (UK) and Yle (Finland). Additionally, and new for season four, Viaplay Group has boarded Moominvalley as a co-production partner and will air all four seasons on its Viaplay streaming platform in multiple territories, including Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Poland and the Netherlands.
Produced by Gutsy Animations, Moominvalley is based on the beloved Moomin stories by Finnish-Swedish author and artist Tove Jansson. Season four is set to launch in late 2024 and will be directed by Nigel Davies (“Shaun the Sheep”), who has worked on previous seasons of Moominvalley and will take the title of Series Director for the new installment.
Journey into the magical world of Moominvalley, an idyllic place where the Moomins live in harmony with nature. The series is a whimsical coming-of-age story of family and friendship, and in the fourth season, the 13 new episodes will be full of unexpected, dangerous and hilarious adventures, each inspired by the importance of taking care of the environment and finding a more sustainable way of living.
Season four will culminate in a thrilling ending as the beautiful valley faces its greatest threat yet – inspired by one of the most famous storylines within the original Moomin books, a comet speeds towards Moominvalley and nobody knows what to do. Only the kindness, acceptance and unique sense of humour of the beloved Moomins can save the day.
Marika Makaroff, Gutsy Animations’ Chief Creative Officer and Executive Producer of the Moominvalley series, said: “As creatives, we’re driven to tell stories that can inspire and bring hope – which is exactly what we aim to do through Moominvalley. The series echoes Tove’s work in encouraging values such as respect for nature, kindness, and acceptance among audiences of all ages, so we’re very grateful to have the opportunity to continue doing so with this season four greenlight. Alongside our long-standing and supportive partners Sky and Yle, it’s fantastic to welcome Viaplay Group on board and for them to join us in the next chapter of Moominvalley’s incredible global journey.”
Moominvalley has been sold to over 60 countries to date, including Finland (Yle), UK (Sky), Japan (NHK) and Germany (ZDF). The series was recently awarded the ‘Audience Episodic Award’ at the New York International Children's Film Festival 2022 and was also nominated for the British Animation Awards 2022. Additionally, season three of Moominvalley was awarded the Albert certification in recognition of Gutsy Animations’ sustainable production processes.
For more information, please contact:
The DDA Group / gutsy@ddapr.com
About Gutsy Animations
Founded in 2016, the joint Finnish/UK production house Gutsy Animations believes that the world is in need of kind, clever, meaningful, and gutsy content for global audiences. The company was founded by award-winning Finnish content creator and director, Marika Makaroff, who is now Chief Creative Officer. Innovative business leader and sustainability expert Harri Roto is the company’s CEO.
The diverse and multicultural creative teams behind the Gutsy Animations’ content are located in Helsinki, Finland and Bristol, UK. The company selects its globally targeted projects based on its core company’s values – acceptance, equality, peace, life affirmation and respect for nature.
Gutsy Animations’ Emmy® award-nominated flagship project “Moominvalley” is currently in its third season and has been sold to over 60 countries. Both seasons two and three were awarded the Albert certification in recognition of sustainable production processes and, most recently, the series also won the Audience Episodic Award at New York International Children's Film Festival in 2022, amongst other notable successes.
In 2021, the company secured investment from Rovio Entertainment, one of the world’s most successful Finnish mobile gaming companies, to support its growth. Gutsy Animations also placed 5th on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50 in 2021, a list ranking the fastest growing technology companies in Finland.
The company is currently broadening its slate with its first adult-targeted drama series, “Beyond Nature” alongside 2D animated kids’ series “Monstrous!” – both of which have a strong emphasis on nature and bold female characters in line with the core Gutsy ethos: See Good. Be Gutsy. For more information, please visit: www.gutsy.fi
About Viaplay Group
Viaplay Group AB (publ) is the international entertainment provider. Our Viaplay streaming service is available direct-to-consumer in every Nordic and Baltic country, Poland, the Netherlands and the UK, and we are expanding rapidly by launching in the US and Canada in 2023. Every day, millions of customers enjoy our unique entertainment offering, including acclaimed Viaplay Series, Films and more, and an unrivalled line-up of premium live sports. In addition, our innovative Viaplay Select branded content concept makes Viaplay’s compelling storytelling available to partners around the world. From streaming to TV channels, radio stations and production companies, our purpose is to tell stories, touch lives and expand worlds. Viaplay Group is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm (‘VPLAY B’).
About Sky Kids
The Sky Kids package is currently home to over 10,000 episodes of award-winning kids’ content on demand and a variety of linear partner channels such as Nick Jr., Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon
A new Sky Kids linear channel (EPG 609 Sky) will be added to the package from February 2023, available at no extra cost for existing Sky Kids customers, offering a raft of new Sky original content and franchise favourites to inspire and entertain kids (age 1-7). Baby TV, currently in slot EPG 609, will move to EPG 696 The scheduled programming has been built around blocks of the busy day to help parents juggle their children’s routines
All Sky Kids content is available to watch in safe, child-friendly environments. Through the Sky Kids app which offers content on demand, available to all Sky customers with the Sky Kids package, parents can create personalised age profiles for their children, alongside a ‘sleep mode’ to moderate screen time, while they watch content on the go.
The Sky Kids package is available for just £6 a month, for Sky customers with Sky’s signature pack. Members of streaming service NOW can also enjoy Sky Kids with its £9.99 Entertainment Membership.
About Moomin Characters
Moomin Characters Oy Ltd is the official copyright holder of all the Moomin characters. All characters from Moominvalley are trademark registered worldwide. The Moomins are central characters in a series of books and comic strips written by Finnish-Swedish writer and artist Tove Jansson between 1945 and 1980. They are one of Finland’s biggest exports and have a global fan base.
The company was founded in the 1950s by Tove Jansson (1914-2001) and her brother Lars Jansson to manage the Moomin copyright and is still run by family members. Rights and Brands is the worldwide licensing agent of the company.
Find out more about Tove Jansson and the Moomins here:
Watch the Season 3 trailer here: